quote:Jerry Lambert, best known among PlayStation fans as the actor who portrays marketing maestro Kevin Butler, is being sued by Sony for breach of contract. The news comes as Lambert was featured in a commercial for Bridgestone’s Game On promotion, where he is seen playing Nintendo Wii in a similar style to his Sony executive alter ego.

The very idea that Sony suggests that because actor Jerry Lambert is handling a Wii peripheral (that is not mentioned by nor is it the basis of the ad) would create confusion among consumers is insulting. I know that Sony has to protect their investment but at the cost of underhandedly insulting the market is pretty low. If you have read Sony's release on this issue you know exactly what I am referring to.

The idea that if you saw the actor Jerry Lambert on TV with any other electronic device in his hand other than a Sony product, you would become confused. Bull shite.

quote:The very idea that Sony suggests that because actor Jerry Lambert is handling a Wii peripheral (that is not mentioned by nor is it the basis of the ad) would create confusion among consumers is insulting. I know that Sony has to protect their investment but at the cost of underhandedly insulting the market is pretty low. If you have read Sony's release on this issue you know exactly what I am referring to.

The idea that if you saw the actor Jerry Lambert on TV with any other electronic device in his hand other than a Sony product, you would become confused. Bull shite.

Not so fast. Nothing wrong with what he did. I bet the contract said Kevin Butler couldn't be in any other commercials. It makes no sense that Jerry Lambert can't appear in any other commercial ever.

quote:According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bridgestone has now responded to those claims, saying "Mr. Lambert is one of the actors who appeared in the commercial as a Bridgestone engineer. Bridgestone denies that 'Kevin Butler' appears in the Bridgestone commercial discussed herein and thus denies that he speaks or does anything whatsoever in the commercial." Bridgestone will reportedly fight the suit on the grounds that Sony does not actually own a trademark for the Kevin Butler character, and that “the character has not acquired secondary meaning and that there is no likelihood of confusion among consumers.”

quote:According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bridgestone has now responded to those claims, saying "Mr. Lambert is one of the actors who appeared in the commercial as a Bridgestone engineer. Bridgestone denies that 'Kevin Butler' appears in the Bridgestone commercial discussed herein and thus denies that he speaks or does anything whatsoever in the commercial."

So they are saying it's okay for him to appear in a similar role to Kevin Butler as long as his name isn't shown as Kevin Butler?

so you have someone under contract to promote your product in national advertising and they show up in another commercial pimping your direct competitors system? that's never going to work out well for the actor. guaranteed they had a no compete clause in the contract that probably extended several years past his contract with sony. corporations don't play around with that sort of thing and him and/or his agent should have known better.

quote:CVG reports that the Bridgestone advert initially aired three days after Lambert’s contract with Sony expired, but that an “exclusivity clause” prevented the actor from phaving his likeness used alongside any rival games product or console – like the Wii.